[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Lucha

I mean, if you're from France, maybe, but Arsene Lupin has zero pop culture footprint in the US.

Like, Lupin The Third is far more recognizable in the English-speaking world than a pulp novel character from turn-of-the-20th-century France.

If Lupato is adapted in the US, I fully expect the Lupins to be billed as Batman-esque super heroes.

Fair enough. I guess the part I'm really not getting is what's actually gained by ignoring the motif. Like, they're either outlaw superhero thieves, or just outlaw superheroes? It just seems like changing "cops and robbers" (which as a broad concept is still something people recognize) to "cops and some guys they don't like" is watering down the concept for benefits I'm not really seeing. Unless children are actively repulsed by the concept of theft, I don't see it making much of a difference on marketability, since the "Batman-esque super heroes" appeal would be there either way.

I guess there's an argument to be made that the Lupinrangers were mostly self-interested, which would clash with PR's usual "the world needs us, Rangers" attitude, but again, whether or not the characters would be stealing things, in of itself, has absolutely no bearing on how heroic their motivations are, and as an adaptation, the hypothetical PR version is totally free to emphasize how they're taking the Lupin Collection equivalent for the good of mankind or whatever.

I guess it's not like I have any real inkling what they'd do with it if they did decide to adapt it. Downplaying motifs from the Sentai isn't anything new, so I suppose it wouldn't exactly surprise me if they went in a direction like you're saying, but it's a striking enough premise I could also see them wanting to use it, and I don't think it'd take that much work to make fit.

Unless I'm way overthinking this and we're simply discussing the issue of whether or not the show would want to outright call them thieves, or some other word that directly implies criminal activity? In that case... maybe? I mean, two of the Rangers in SPD were reformed thieves, so we're sorta halfway there already. I'll concede in a heartbeat that nobody working on the brand probably wants merchandise with a logo that says, like, "Power Rangers Thief Force" on it, so I don't think the team's actual name would be so blunt, but at the very least, I think the show itself would not feel obligated to skirt the issue in any way.